Thursday, February 14, 2008

"I'm selling some shares of Verizon!."

Mr. Chase's math students are fired up with their latest project, "investing" in the stock market. Instead of groaning about homework these young men are rushing to the library computers and elsewhere to see whose stocks are up and whose are down and who's made the most that day.

"Oh darn, it's not 9:00 yet!" said one student eagerly. "Why?" "Because that's when the stock market opens!" (It turns out that the opeing time is 9:25.)

Using the website Virtual Stock Exchange students are registered for a "game" in which they are as fully engaged as any adult checking his investments. "I'm selling some of my Netflix and buying more Verizon!" "Yesterday I was number twelve, and today I'm number two!" "What stocks do you have?"

While it's common at C.S. to see students actively engaged in learning, this project is a chart topper for the interest generated and learning involved. Those of us whose schooling was some years ago weren't always this lucky: Some of us never learned anything about economics or the stock market in school.

Hats off to Mr. Chase for this wonderful learning adventure! There are many such authentic projects going on at C.S., and St. Dunstan will try to feature these from time to time, when he has his camera handy